i) Field
This application relates to diagnostic analyzer utilized in a medical setting. In particular, this application relates to a method and a system for performing quality control on a diagnostic analyzer.
ii) Description of the Related Art
Diagnostic analyzers, such as hematology analyzers are utilized to perform various measurements of the constituents of a blood sample. Such analyzers tend to be placed in hospitals and laboratories. For example, a given hospital may have several laboratories. Each laboratory may have any number of analyzers.
In a typical laboratory environment, one or more lab operators are required to run diagnostic test, change reagents, and tend to other maintenance related activities associated with the analyzers, such as calibration of the analyzers.
The skill level of a given operator may vary significantly, in which case the lab operator may not be familiar with quality control measurements on a given analyzer. For example, the operator may not have knowledge how to perform the quality control measurements or how to evaluate a result of the quality control measurement. The operator may use a quality control sample that is too old. Therefore, the operator may not accurately assess a condition of the analyzer and may not appropriately deal with problems that may have occurred in the analyzer.
Other problems known with operating problems faced by lab personnel will become apparent upon reading the descriptions of the various embodiments described below.